March 26, 2020

Coronavirus Could Become Seasonal - Top US Scientist

Coronavirus Could Become Seasonal – Top US Scientist

March 26, 2020 6:16 pm

There is a strong chance the new coronavirus could return in seasonal cycles, a senior US scientist said Wednesday, underscoring the urgent need to find a vaccine and effective treatments.

Anthony Fauci, who leads research into infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told a briefing the virus was beginning to take root in the southern hemisphere, where winter is on its way.

“What we’re starting to see now… in southern Africa and in the southern hemisphere countries, is that we’re having cases that are appearing as they go into their winter season,” he said.

“And if, in fact, …

Nine Doctors Die From Coronavirus In Philippines

Nine Doctors Die From Coronavirus In Philippines

March 26, 2020 6:15 pm

Nine doctors have died in the Philippines from the coronavirus, the country’s top medical association said Thursday, as hospitals were overwhelmed and medics complained about a lack of protection on the front lines.

The announcement of the doctors’ deaths heightened fears that the scale of the health crisis in the Philippines is much worse than is being officially reported, with the confirmed virus death toll at just 38.

The main island of Luzon, home to 55 million people, is in the second week of a lockdown to contain the spread of the disease, however medics are warning there is a …

Public Distrust Hampers Africa Fight Against Virus Misinformation

Africa’s Harsh Battle Against Virus Misinformation

March 26, 2020 6:14 pm

African nations fighting the novel coronavirus face a foe as stealthy and dangerous as the microbe itself: misinformation and apathy, fuelled by deep distrust of government.

Bogus news and indifference to official warnings are emerging as giant obstacles in a region where poor healthcare infrastructure, sanitation and overcrowded slums provide fertile ground for COVID-19 to spread.

Africa has recorded nearly 2,800 cases and at least 70 deaths, according to an AFP compilation as of Thursday.

The tally may lag far behind that of other continents, but the World Health Organization (WHO), backed by the top names in medicine, has bluntly …

Italy's Italy's Dead Overwhelm Morgues As Virus Toll Tops 8,000

Italy’s Dead Overwhelm Morgues As Virus Toll Tops 8,000

March 26, 2020 6:14 pm

An overwhelmed Italian city at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday sent more of its dead to nearby towns for cremation as the country’s world-leading toll topped 8,000.

Officials in Rome reported 662 new deaths and 6,153 infections — largely in line with the figures reported throughout the week.

The rise in daily deaths edged down to the lowest point in the crisis — 8.8 percent — while the infection rate stood at around eight percent for the fourth day running.

But the numbers are not dropping much further and Italians appear to be coming to terms with …

Pandemic Deaths Could Top 1.8mn Even With Tough Response

Pandemic Deaths Could Top 1.8mn Even With Tough Response

March 26, 2020 6:11 pm

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe could hit 1.8 million worldwide this year even with swift and stringent measures to stop it, according to a study from Britain’s Imperial College published Thursday.

Researchers estimate that tens of millions of lives could be saved if governments act fast to adopt strict public health measures, including testing, quarantining and broad social distancing.

The latest report from Imperial College London, whose previous research spurred the British government to ramp up its efforts to curb the virus, comes as an AFP toll based on country data and World Health Organisation …

Coronavirus Cases Jump By 2,500 In One Day In Italy

Italy: Coronavirus Cases Jump By 2,500 In One Day

March 26, 2020 1:10 pm
The number of coronavirus cases in the northern region of Lombardy, which includes Italy’s financial capital, Milan, increased by some 2,500 on Thursday, regional Governor Attilio Fontana said.

“Today’s coronavirus cases are not good, unfortunately. There has been a steeper increase compared with previous days,” Fontana told reporters. The governor went into self-isolation last month, long before Italy’s lockdown, after an aide tested positive for the virus.

Read Also: U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 1,000

 

The number of cases in the region, which has borne the brunt of Italy’s contagion, increased by some 1,643 to roughly 32,346 on

…
Spain Reports 655 Deaths In A Day

Spain Reports 655 Deaths In A Day

March 26, 2020 1:08 pm

The number of declared coronavirus cases in Europe topped 250,000, more than half of which are in hard-hit Italy and Spain. But over the last 24 hours both countries reported improvements.

Spain registered 655 fatalities from the coronavirus – down from more than 700 on Wednesday, while Italy confirmed a lower rate of infections. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) European office said it saw “encouraging signs”, cautioning it was too early to say whether the worst had passed.

More than three million Americans filed new claims for unemployment insurance last week amid the coronavirus pandemic, breaking the previous record as …

Instagram's CEO Is Managing It From His Garage

Instagram’s CEO Is Managing It From His Garage

March 26, 2020 1:08 pm

“I don’t normally work from my garage,” Adam Mosseri said when asked what it’s like to run one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, Instagram from his San Francisco home.

For years, Instagram has been synonymous with travel and experiences. Its users fill their feeds with carefully filtered and cropped photos of exotic locations and colorful venues. But now, from his plywood-lined garage, Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO, is telling his users to do what he’s doing: stay at home.
Over the past week the company launched a dedicated “Stay at Home” tab featured prominently in the Stories section
…
Middle East Opens first hypercar factory

Middle East Opens First Hypercar Factory

March 26, 2020 1:07 pm

In 2015, W Motors achieved global prominence when cinema audiences watched Vin Diesel drive a cherry-red sports car through the windows of a skyscraper in the seventh installment of “The Fast Saga.”

The vehicle in question, a $3.4 million Lykan Hypersport with diamond-studded headlights, was billed as “the first Arabian hypercar” — although the Dubai-based company had it manufactured abroad.
For its latest trick, W Motors will attempt to launch an entire industry.
The first bricks of “W Motors Campus” were laid in January within the Dubai Silicon Oasis free trade zone on the outskirts of the city. The site
…
US: Unemployment Claims Soared To 3.3 Million Last Week

US: Unemployment Claims Soared To 3.3 Million Last Week

March 26, 2020 1:07 pm

A record number of Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, as businesses shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Initial jobless claims soared to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ended March 21, according to the Department of Labor.
That is the highest number of initial jobless claims in history, since the Department of Labor started tracking the data in 1967. The previous high was 695,000 claims filed in the week ending October 2, 1982.
“Most historical comparisons of this scale are
…
London Hospitals Experience Continuous Tsunami Of Patients

UK: Hospitals Experience Continuous Tsunami Of Patients

March 26, 2020 1:06 pm
Hospitals in London are experiencing a “continuous tsunami” of coronavirus patients, according to a group that represents Britain’s hospitals, ambulance services and community health services.

Speaking to BBC Radio today, National Health Service Providers CEO Chris Hopson said London hospitals had increased critical care capacity by between five and seven times in the past couple of weeks to cope with the extra need.

But Hopson said hospitals in London were struggling to meet the “explosion of demand” because of “the number of patients that are arriving and the speed at which they’re arriving and how ill they are.”

Read Also:

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UK Orders 10,000 Ventilators From Dyson

UK Orders 10,000 Ventilators From Dyson

March 26, 2020 1:06 pm

The government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from Dyson to help deal with the coronavirus crisis.

The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had designed a new type of ventilator in response to a call on behalf of the NHS.

The order is still subject to the devices passing stringent medical tests but that is expected to happen quickly.

Dyson has had hundreds of engineers working round the clock to design the ventilators from scratch.

Blitz spirit

It hopes to build the ventilators at scale from its UK base in Wiltshire – using aircraft hangars that were …

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